I was an advocate of bringing in Dampier at the beginning of training camp; however, now would be a frustrating move. I have watched a lot of the preseason and all I have heard from Triano is how hard he has worked the guys, the comraderie that has formed and how they are not massaging anybody this time around. If they bring in Dampier (who has intentionally sat out all of preseason) then this could be the start of division and double standards on a team that's only strength is team.

There have to be better moves the Raptors could make - the Raptors need a stopper in the middle and a speedy point guard....
1. Somehow get involved in the Denver shake-up - there is no way they are going to get Melo, but Ty Lawson would be really nice... maybe even Nene (could Barbosa put in a good word?)
2. I have to think one of either Haywood or Chandler is going to get upset with lack of playing time in Big-D, not exactly sure what the Raptors can offer them, but maybe another team can get involved?
3. If and when Oden and Pryzbella get healthy, Portland may want to move either one of them or Camby?
4. Bynum????
5. Other options at the point????

I was never high on Dampier but has instead been pining for the TPE to be used on Okafor. HOWEVER, the looming lockout or new CBA will prevent BC and MLSE from acquiring Okafor's massive contract. I'm led to believe as a fan that the TPE at this point will be let go without ever being touched. If we are looking for a band-aid solution, it would be Evans at the 4 and Bargs at the 5. If we are destined to be a 25-win team and decide to add Okafor and say we get 10 more wins (an absolute max), we still find ourselves out of the playoff picture and out of the top 5 in the draft for next year. I think that BC, will stand pat. If the team struggles, his excuse is that it is the post-Bosh era. If he lets the TPE go untouched, he can use the looming lockout as a reason not to hand-cuff the franchise. Either way, he'll come out with a viable excuse for the team to under-perform. He's not tanking it, but he's also not addressing the deficiencies because addressing them will just put us out of the draft and / or the playoffs anyway. Just my thoughts.

“The saving of our world from pending doom will come, not through the complacent adjustment of the conforming majority, but through the creative maladjustment of a nonconforming minority.” - Martin Luther King

On the possibility of a lockout...I think not. Why? Cause clearly most of the owners are making money and so are the players. The players union is notoriously weak and I dont know if many of the richest among them would like their lifestyles to change much. These guys are all businessmen on some level and will see a way of a sawoff for a deal.

On Dampier: isnt it curious that no one has picked him up yet? Or is it because the guy wants to bypass the rigors of training camp? Look what happened to Hedo last year. WHat does it say to the rest of the team who busted their asses the last month and how long before Mr. D gets into game shape? And is he signing here because he really wants to (he would have done this already)? All in all it doesnt make sense at this time. He is not a difference maker.

I agree with the majority of these posts. Dampier is not a difference maker. He's old and lazy.

I'll speculate but there's no grounding for it. I could see there being a possibility of doing something with the Mavericks later on in the season. As of right now they have 4 centers, Haywood, Chandler, Ajinca and Mahinmi. Though the last two are not starters they could put up solid minutes and numbers to back up Haywood. Maybe half-way through the season Chandler will be up for grabs and Dallas and Toronto could do some kind of deal.

It's totally hypothetical and there may not be anythign to it. I do like that there are options out there for the team. Again I must say that I do not think Dampier should be one of them.

I've been reading these post and im pretty sure u guys want a losing season ,this is what i have to say to u forget u guys with the losing mentality I wanna win now and if you ever go in to something with a losing state of mind thats what you'll always be a bunch of losers

I've been reading these post and im pretty sure u guys want a losing season ,this is what i have to say to u forget u guys with the losing mentality I wanna win now and if you ever go in to something with a losing state of mind thats what you'll always be a bunch of losers

So are you saying that if we got Dampier we will win now? If that's the case I think you are sorely mistaken. I don't think anyone wants to lose, I think most of us just concur that Dampier is not going to be a catalyst to do it now.

When asked if Alabi could spend some time in the D-League this year, Triano said possibly, as the youngster needs to play, no matter the location. He does not figure to get much playing time in Toronto, especially when Davis comes back from his knee injury.

I've been reading these post and im pretty sure u guys want a losing season ,this is what i have to say to u forget u guys with the losing mentality I wanna win now and if you ever go in to something with a losing state of mind thats what you'll always be a bunch of losers

It seems you are convinced that Dampier would help the Raps "win". What exactly is your definition of "win"....how many games would that be and for how many seasons. Have you strategized the growth process for the Raps or are you more inclined at following the Isiah Thomas model of acquiring incompatible and expensive parts and hopeful that something would stick or if not, he could then peddle his unusable pieces as "assets" that someone else would be breaking down the door for? It didnt happen in either case.

I've been reading these post and im pretty sure u guys want a losing season ,this is what i have to say to u forget u guys with the losing mentality I wanna win now and if you ever go in to something with a losing state of mind thats what you'll always be a bunch of losers

I want the Raptors to win - but with the current lineup they are only going to win 25 games max. Why go after another non-starter to win 5 or so more games? Would you rather win 25 to 35 games this year - miss the playoffs and have a mid-range pick and win 30 or so games for the next few seasons OR would you rather win 15 to 20 games this year, get a top three pick and likely make the playoffs next year?

I am on the fence here because on one hand barg help defense and rebounding ability did not improve from last year and jack and calderon can't defend any of the guards in this league so you need a center. On the other hand we have davis and alabi and will they be ready to do what we need them to do now.

people are talking about the D-league for alabi which I don't agree with and davis is coming off a injury and missed the intense pre-season this team just went through.